World Review from the New Statesman

Politicians around the world use nationalism. They use it to win elections, and to stoke fear, and to gain and hold on to power. This nationalism is exclusive, based on ethnicity or race or religion.   Is there another way? This series will look at nationalisms around the world, and whether they could be countered by a civic, liberal nationalism.   In this second episode we look at natio...

As protests in Iran continue, sparked by the death of Masha Amini, a 22-year-old woman who had been arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s hijab law, Ido Vock speaks to the Iranian academic Fatemeh Shams. They discuss how these protests have grown, the history of patriarchy in Iran and whether this could be the beginning of the end of the Iranian regime. Read more: How  Mahsa Amini’s  d...

Russian forces have launched major missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities for the second week in a row, killing at least five people. The European Commission condemned the strikes as “acts of pure terror” that amounted to war crimes.   Emily Tamkin and Katie Stallard in Washington DC, and Ido Vock in Berlin discuss how this escalation by Russia is changi...

Politicians all over the world use nationalism. They use it to win elections, and to stoke fear, and to gain and hold on to power. This form of nationalism is exclusive, based on ethnicity or race or religion. But is there another way?  Emily Tamkin presents  Nationalism Reimagined , a new series from the  World Review  podcast that will examine nationalism in its various...

Katie Stallard speak to our own Emily Tamkin about her new book,  Bad Jews: A History of American Jewish Politics and Identities . They discuss how the book came about, the challenges of Jewish identity in America in the 21st century, Trump and what Emily learned from interviewing her parents. Podcast listeners can subscribe to the  New Statesman  for just £1 a week for 12 weeks usi...

In this special episode of World Review Kate Mossman hosts a conversation between the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and the Icelandic musician Björk Guðmundsdóttir .  They have collaborated in the past (on Björk’s 2019 Cornucopia tour) but had never met till now – albeit virtually.   In a wide-ranging conversation they discuss Thunbe...

Emily Tamkin in Washington DC and Ido Vock in Helsinki are joined by Alix Kroeger, a freelance journalist in Kyiv and the former international managing editor of the  New Statesman . Central Kyiv was attacked by Russia this week. As Alix reports, this was the first time the capital has been attacked since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The team discuss the devastation wro...

Katie Stallard, the  New Statesman 's senior editor, China and global affairs, presents a special series of the  New Statesman 's  World Review  podcast on China's past, present and future under Xi Jinping, as the Chinese leader prepares to embark on an unprecedented third term in power. This episode looks at what the next five years under Xi might hold for China as he rea...

Ahead of the National Congress that begins on 16 October in Beijing, where Xi is likely to secure a third five-year term in power in China, Katie Stallard speaks to the author and political scientist Jeremy Wallace about whether you can trust what China says about its economy.    They discuss how GDP data can be manipulated, the impact of Covid-19 on the country, and what we should be lo...

The United States and its allies are trying to gauge how, exactly, Vladimir Putin might use the nuclear weapons he’s threatened to deploy in his war in Ukraine, if he were to take that dire step. Meanwhile, North Korea has conducted six missile tests in two weeks. Emily Tamkin in Washington DC, Katie Stallard in Scotland’s Black Isle, and Ido Vock in Helsinki discuss what Russia’s use of a nuclear...

Katie Stallard, the  New Statesman ’s   senior editor, China and global affairs, presents a special series of the  NS ’s World Review podcast, explaining China’s past, present and future under Xi Jinping, as the Chinese leader prepares to embark on a third term in power. This week’s episode looks at how Xi consolidated power during his first decade in c...

Following the Italian election victory of the post-fascist Giorgia Meloni and her Fratelli d'Italia party last weekend, many have asked what relationship it has with the country's fascist past. To discuss this, Jeremy Cliffe is joined by the historian David Broder, Europe editor at  Jacobin  and the author of the forthcoming book  Mussolini's Grandchildren: Fascism in Contemporary I...

Giorgia Meloni’s post-fascist Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) party claimed victory in the Italian election on Sunday 25 September. Meloni is now on the verge of becoming the country’s first female prime minister.   Emily Tamkin in Washington DC is joined by Jeremy Cliffe and Ido Vock in Berlin to discuss what Meloni can be expected to usher in for Italy and for Europe more broadly. The...

Katie Stallard, the  New Statesman 's   Senior Editor, China and Global Affairs, presents a special series of the  New Statesman 's World Review podcast on China's past, present and future under Xi Jinping, as the Chinese leader prepares to embark on an unprecedented third term in power.   This episode looks back at China's recent history, fro...

As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine leaves it short of allies, the country’s relationship with India has come into sharp focus. Emily Tamkin speaks to Raji Rajagopalan, the director of the Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology (CSST) at the Observer Research Foundation, about India's balancing act between Russia and the West. They discuss India’s foreign relations priorities; its relations...

In this special bonus episode of World Review, we look at the results of a two year initiative on how we can achieve wellbeing for all within planetary boundaries.    50 years after the ground breaking  The Limits to Growth  report, a new book  Earth For All  details five turnarounds that are the minimum requirements for our societies to build economies that supp...

On Wednesday (21 September), President Vladimir Putin announced illegal referenda to claim parts of Ukraine as Russia. In the biggest escalation of the war since the invasion began, he ordered a partial mobilisation of Russian army reserves and made a thinly veiled threat to use nuclear weapons.   Emily Tamkin and Katie Stallard in Washington, DC, are joined by the New Statesman’s Britain edi...

Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, with its "post-fascist" history, is leading the polls ahead of parliamentary elections on 25 September. If the party wins, she will become the country's first ever female prime minister.   Emily Tamkin, the  New Statesman ’s senior editor, US, speaks to author Tim Parks on how much the vote is about Italy's ideological direction, the co...

Ukrainian forces have been making rapid and remarkable advances in the north-east of the country, regaining control of two key strategic hubs and a large swathe of territory in the Kharkiv region. Emily Tamkin in Washington DC, Ido Vock in Berlin and Katie Stallard in Austin discuss how this success could impact Western support and how far Ukraine could go. Next, the team turns to murmurings of di...

Katie Stallard speaks to Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies at King's College London and a regular contributor to the  New Statesman , as well as the author of numerous books, including his latest,  Command: The Politics of Military Operations from Korea to Ukraine .   They discuss Vladimir Putin's failure to anticipate the scale of Ukraine's resistance and the cur...

Russia has halted gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The Kremlin has said that deliveries will not resume until the West lifts the sanctions imposed in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.   Emily Tamkin and Katie Stallard in Washington DC are joined by Ido Vock in Berlin to discuss soaring gas prices in Europe and the scrambled response from Germany and the EU as wint...

Ahead of the Swedish general election on 11 September, we take a look at why the far-right party has risen in the polls and whether a recent recovery by the ruling Social Democrats means the country’s prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, will be able to retain power. Journalist and academic Dominic Hinde joins the New Statesman’s executive editor, Megan Gibson, to discuss the election’s main issue...

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 91 in Moscow. He was credited with bringing the Cold War to a peaceful end and ushering in an era of openness and reform in the Soviet Union, which ultimately led to its collapse.   Emily Tamkin in Washington DC is joined by Megan Gibson and Alix Kroeger in London to consider Gorbachev’s legacy and reactions to his...

As Russia’s war on Ukraine continues, the historian Orlando Figes’s latest book considers how Russia and its rulers see the country. He speaks to Alix Kroeger about why his book is called  The Story of Russia , rather than The History of Russia, what drives Vladimir Putin and the low chances of the country liberalising any time soon. The Story of Russia  is published by Bloomsbury and av...

Today (24 August) marks 31 years since Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union and six months since Vladimir Putin’s invasion which has killed thousands and shaken the global order. This year, national celebrations are muted as the country braces for possible Russian attacks. In this special episode of  World Review , Emily Tamkin and Katie Stallard in Washington DC, are joined by...